Brian Concannon, The Miami Herald July 17, 2018 Saturday’s resignation of Haiti’s Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant, along with the suspension of controversial fuel price rises, will bring temporary respite from the latest social unrest in the country. But they will not resolve the problem underlying the protests — the Haitian people’s inability to demand better governance and basic services from its leaders. In a 1962 speech to the Organization of American States, President Kennedy urged the United States and “those who possess wealth and power” in the hemisphere’s less wealthy nations to enact reforms to allow the people of the Americas “to hope for a suitable standard of living.” Kennedy famously warned that. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” We did not need last week’s images of angry protests and burning cars to know that, […]

Building stability and prosperity in Haiti through justice Haitian Flag a Symbol of Global Freedom and Democracy May 18 is Flag Day in Haiti, which celebrates 215 years of Haitian leadership in the fight for global freedom and democracy. In fact, Haitians invented the concept of Universal Human Rights: unlike the United States, which proclaimed that “all men are created equal” in 1776 without meaning “all”, and France who asserted “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” for some people in 1789, the Haitians in 1803 extended freedom and rights to everyone. At the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), we are honored to fight alongside our Haitian partners to advance the promise of universal rights in Haiti and abroad. Together with our Haitian partner, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), IJDH continues to insist that everyone is obligated to respect Haitians’ rights, including the […]

May 18 is Flag Day in Haiti, which celebrates 215 years of Haitian leadership in the fight for global freedom and democracy. In fact, Haitians invented the concept of Universal Human Rights: unlike the United States, which proclaimed that “all men are created equal” in 1776 without meaning “all”, and France who asserted “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” for some people in 1789, the Haitians in 1803 extended freedom and rights to everyone. At the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), we are honored to fight alongside our Haitian partners to advance the promise of universal rights in Haiti and abroad.Together with our Haitian partner, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), IJDH continues to insist that everyone is obligated to respect Haitians’ rights, including the United Nations, which must take responsibility for its deadly cholera epidemic that has taken 10,000 Haitian lives, and the United States, which must stop discriminating against Haitians in the U.S. […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS Contact: Wadner Pierre, Communications Coordinator, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), wadner@ijdh.org, +1(617)-816-2815 (English, French, Haitian-Creole) Ashley Armand, Marketing and Development Specialist, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), ashley@ijdh.org, +1(617) 935-5344 (English, French, Haitian-Creole) IJDH and BAI to Present ‘A Stand Up for Justice and Democracy in Haiti’ Boston, May 1, 2018– The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) and the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) will present “A Stand up for Justice and Democracy in Haiti” with Haitian-American comedians Jean-Louis “J-L” Cauvin, Tanael Joachim and Reginal Thomas at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City on May 2, 2018. Our host Vladimir Calixte, known as Haitian V, will be using his talents to bring people who care about justice and democracy in Haiti together to laugh while championing a worthy cause. All proceeds will benefit BAI/IJDH’s advocacy and legal work in Haiti. Joachim, a native of Haiti, who penned a New York Times’ response to President Donald Trump’s criticism […]

Homophobia has long been a problem in Haiti, and staff at Kouraj (a LGBT rights organization focused on improving treatment towards LGBT people in Haiti) say it’s only gotten worse since the 2010 earthquake. Chachou Jean Francois, a transgender group leader and youth educator at Kouraj, is the arrival of foreign evangelicals imposing their views. After the 2010 earthquake, many of the organizations that rushed to Haiti to help were christian evangelical groups. It is widely believed in Haiti’s LGBT community that Christian fundamentalism spread, along with anti-LGBT sentiment. Read More HERE. Why it’s gotten harder for LGBT people in Haiti since the earthquake By Amy Bracken, February 6, 2018 The name of Haiti’s most prominent LGBT rights organization is Kouraj (Haitian Creole for courage) — with good reason. The group’s headquarters have moved three times after attacks. The current office is […]